Electrical soldering-machine.



A. A. BACON.

ELECTRIC SOLDERING MACHINE.

APPLlCATlON FILED NOV. 13. \911.

1 176,420 Patented Mar. 21, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

vVm lcooeo I I I anemic WWI A. A. BACON.

ELECTRIC SOLDERING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 13, 1911.

7 1,176,420. Patented Mar. 21,1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

' 3 it m :1

THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPII Cm. WASHINGTON. D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR AVERY BACON, OF GENEVA, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO TI-IE STANDARDOPTICAL COMPANY, OF GENEVA, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

ELECTRIC SOLDERING-MACHINE.

Application filed November 13, 1911.

V To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, ARTHUR AvnRY BACON, of Geneva, in the county ofOntario, in the State of New York, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Electric Soldering- Machines, of which the following,taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear,and exact description.

This inventionrelates to certain improvements in elect ic soldering andinvolves both the method of and apparatus for electrically uniting therelatively small parts of lens mountings for eye glasses, spectacles andsimilar articles of manufacture by solder or equivalent material whichis fusible under a comparatively low degree of heat. These mountings areusually made of non-corrodible metals such as gold alloys, gold-filledGerman silver and their equivalents having a certaindegree of hardnessor temper to give the various parts of the mountings the requiredstiffness and resiliency and still remain sufliciently ductile to permitthem to be easily adjusted within a limited range by slight bending.Heretofore so far as I am aware these parts have been soldered togetherby manually holding them in contact with each other with theircontacting points or surfaces (and a small quantity of interposedsolder) within the pencil-like flame of a suitable gas burner until thesolder is fused and spreadover such points or surfaces, after which thejoined parts are removed from the flame to allow the solder to cool orset. This flame process is not only slow, laborious and more or lessuncertain in its results but requires a long experience and considerableskill to enable the operator to properly position the parts relativelyto each other and to the flame during the soldering operation so thatsuch parts will be accurately assembled when the solder is set. Anotherand more serious result of this flame process of soldering is thatconsiderable portions of the metal adjacent the points of contact arenecessarily brought directly into the flame, which together with theusual high heat conductivity causes heating of the metal sufficient todraw the temper and thereby destroy the rigidity and resiliency of themain bodies.

The main object, therefore, of my present invention is to confine theheat as closely to the contacting surface as possible and to avoid thetransmission of such heat to the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 21, 1916.

Serial No. 659,991.

main bodies of the parts for the purpose of preserving the inherentstifiness and resiliency of the united parts.

Another object is to provide simple means for holding the parts in theirexact relative positions in which they are to be assembled during thesoldering operation so as to render any subsequent adjustment of thejoint unnecessary.

A still further object is to effect the union of the parts electricallyunder a very low voltage or current pressure which incidentally rendersthe use of the machine perfectly safe in the hands of unskilledoperators and also prevents arcing of the circuits across the gapbetween the holding devices and at other points where a short circuitmay exist from a higher voltage.

Another object is to provide mechanical means for automaticallyregistering one part with the other part without especial atten tionfrom the operator.

Other objects and uses will be brought out in the following description.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of one form of apparatusfor carrying out the herein described process and adapted moreparticularly foruniting the lens posts of rimless eyeglasses to the nosebridge, the parts being shown in their normal positions. Fig. 2 is anelevation of the left hand end of the same apparatus omitting theelectric circuits and operating treadles for the movable parts. Fig. 3is an enlarged top plan of the feed guide for the lens posts andaportion of the pick up clamp for clamping and carrying the lens post tothe other set of clamping members which engage and hold the nose bridge.Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the same guide and clamp shown inFig. 3. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are enlarged transverse vertical sectionalviews of parts of the same machine taken respectively on lines 5-5, 66and 7-7, Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is an enlarged top plan of the machine shown inFig. 1, the parts being in position for solder ing the post to the nosebridge. Fig. 9 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the samemachine taken on line 1010, Fig. 9. Fig. 10 is a detail sectional viewof the as sembled parts of a lens mounting showing the solder washerbetween the parts to be connected.

The method of soldering the parts to be united briefly stated consistsin gripping the parts close to the points of'surfaces which are to beunited and bringing such points or surfaces together with a suitablequantity of solder into contact by means of relatively large grippingmembers of low electrical resistance and high heat co nduc tivityconnectedin a low voltage circuit for the purpose of dissipating heatand concentrating thelow voltage current energy at the contactingsurfaces of the parts to be united.

The appa a'tus shown for carrying out this process comprises a mainsupporting frame -1- of suitable material having at one end an uprightbracket 2 upon which is mounted a fixed jaw 3 formaction with acorresponding movable jaw said jaws serving to clamp between them a nosebridge a for holding the latter firmly in a fixed position during theapplication of a lens post b to one end the eof. The movable jaw 4: is'normally forced to its open position by means of a spring 5 and may beclosed by any suitable power device, as, for example, a treadle 6 andsuitable connections 7' between the treadle and jaw -1. The meetingfacesof these jaws '3 and 'l are provided with transverse grooves -8 and9' which register with each other when. the jaws are closed for engagingoppos te edges of the bridge piece a and ho ding it edgewise verticallyin a fixed position.

The ends of thebridge piece a are provided with enlarged heads a'- andreduced pintles -c fiprojecting axially from the outer side'of the headand adapted to enter central apertures in the lens posts 7 as shown morec early in Fig. 4.

The sprirg '5 which fo ms a common elect ical connection to both of thegripping members -3- and -4C :is preferably made of tem ered co perorrcopper bronze or equivalent mate ial of high electric conductivityelectricall connected by a wire c to one side of the secondary windingof a transformer (Z, the primary windlIlQ of which is connected to asource of electric energy -e. the object being to unite the parts of thelens mount ng rnder a low e ectro-mot e force capable of de- "eloni gjus suff cient he t to quickly fuse the solder without excessivelyheating any moe of src part han theircont ct ng points or surfaces. Viththis same object in view, the g"i oping members 3 and lare relativelylarge as compared with the cross sect onal area of the art o bridgepiece a and are preferably made of copper bro ze or sim a m terial oflow electrical resistan and high heat cond cti ity capabe of d ss patingany heat w ich ma be t 'a 'srnitted the eto during the solde ngoperation, the gripping member *3- being secured to the bracket 2 whichis of cast iron while the gripping member l is secured to a cast ironarm 11- which is pivoted at -1:2- to the bracket 2 as best seen in Fig.2.

A carrier arm 13 of cast iron or equivalent material has one end pivotedat 1 -l to a rocker arm 15 which in turn is pivoted at '16 to the base-l so as to allow the carrier arm -13 to be moved longitudinally andvertically in a plane at substantially right angles to that of the jaws3- and ii.

A lever 17 of cast iron or equivalent material is pivoted at 18 upon thearm 13 and extends longitudinally thereof and, upon the correspondingends of the arm 13- and lever -l7, are mounted a pair of grippingmembers 19 and 20-.

Interposed between the gripping members --19 and 20 is a disk 2l whichis rotatingly mounted upon the upper end of a screw stud 22 by which thegripping member 19 is secured to the arm --13 leaving suflicientclearance between the faces of said gripping member and disk for thereception of one of the ears or lugs of the lens post b. That is theupper end of the stud 22- upon which the disk 21- is mounted is reducedin d ameter forming a shoulder to support the disk 21. 'The grippingmember -20 is secured to the underside of the lever -l7 by means of ascrew stud 23 and isprovided with a central recess 24 for receiving acoil spring -25 which is compressed between the upper face of the disk-Q1-j and upper wall of the socket '24ito frictionally hold the disk 21against too free rotary movement, and at the same time perm tting saiddisk to be adjusted rotarily to bring different parts thereof intoposition for receiving the lenspost b. The disks 19 and 20 may beprovided with alined threaded apertures 26' for receiving a binding post26'- shown mo e clearly in Fig. 8 for one'of the wires and also serve todissipate any heat which may be transmitted the eto by reason of the rlar e exposed surface areas.

The jaws or grippm'g members -19- and 20 are forced together or clampedupon' the work by means of a spring 2'7 which is interposed between anextension 28 on the arm 13 and a suitable adjusting screw 29 on theadjacent end of the lever 17, the screw 29serving to vary the tension ofthe spring and thereby vary the power with which the article is grippedbetween the members 19- and 20, said spring 27 being of greater tensionthan the spring 24 which is relatively light and merely serves tofrictionally hold the disk 21 against undue rotation. If necessary, thejaws 19 and 20 may also be adjusted rotarily by simply loosening theirrespective clamping screws 22 and 23 and retightening them to hold themin their adjusted positions.

The articles as b which are to be soldered to the part a are placed in asuitable tray 29 which is supported .upon an upright standard risingfrom the main supporting bed or frame 1 in a plane below and to one sideof the meeting faces of the gripping members -3'- and 4-, said articlesbeing fed from the tray 2) into a grooved guide 31- and across the upperend of acoacting spring jaw 32 having a vertical slot 33 into which theneck of the lens post b is adapted to drop'as shown more clearly in Fig.3, thereby temporarily holding said post in position to be engaged andgripped by the gripping'members -l9 and 20- in a manner hereinafterdescribed.

The guide groove 31- is formed in the upper end of the upright standard30 which is secured to and rises from the main supporting base 1 and towhich the spring jaw 32 is secured as best seen in Fig. 9.

As shown in Fig. 1. the free end of the arm -13 carrying the grippingmembers 19 and -20 is normally supported upon a suitable rest 35 whichis provided with a screwthreaded stem screwing into the base 1 and istherefore adjustable verticallv to support the arm 13 at the desiredheight with the edge of the disk :2-1 in approximately the samehorizontal plane as the space between the ears of the lens post bso thatby depressing the lever 17 against the action of the spring 27 to openthe jaw 20 and then advancing the arm -13 across and upon the rest 35,the ears of the lens post b will enter the spaces between the disk 21and adjacent faces of the gripping members 19 and 20. while the edge ofthe disk 2l will enter between said ears and when pressure upon thelever 17 is released, the intervening portions of the lens post will beclamped between the members -'19 and -20' and corresponding faces of thedisk 2l leaving a small portion of the post equal to the thickness ofthe spring guide 32 projecting beyond the periphery of the grippingmembers l9 and 20. Prior to this operation, the bridge piece a isregistered with the grooves -8 and 9 and held in a fixed position by thegripping members 3 and with the inner enlarged head abutting against theinner face of said gripping members. While the bridge piece a is thusheld in a fixed position, the arm l3- with the lens post b grippedbetween the jaws 1'9 and 20- is elevated and carried forwardly over thetop of the guides 31 and 32 and across and upon a suitable rest 36 whichis also provided with a screw stem adjustable in a threaded aperture inthe bracket 2 so as to bring the center of the post in exactregistration with the adj acentprotruding end of the bridge piece a tocontact therewith or rather to cause the adjacent spur a to enter theaperture in the post.

Just before the lens post is brought into contact with the adjacent endof the bridge piece a, a small solder washer h is placed upon theadjacent spur so that when the nose piece is engaged with said spur orthat said parts are properly assembled. In

order that this action may be positive and expeditious. the groove inthe spring finger 32 in which the partb is temporarily held is disposedin the same lengthwise vertical plane as the grooves -8 and 9 in thegripping members 3 and 4 and also in the same vertical plane as thelongitudinal center of the gripping members 8 and 9. This movement ofthe arm 13 and gripping jaws 8 and 9 to their soldering positions isfacilitated by means of a pedal 88 and cable 39 connecting said pedalover the sheave 4=0 to a spring arm 'll which is secured to the rockerarm 15. thereby permitting the parts of the mounting to be broughttogether for soldering under yielding pressure to avoid any possibilityof overstraining or deforming said parts.

The free end of the spring 'l1 is connectedto the cable 39 by means of ascrew i3 and jam nuts the screw being passed through an aperture in theend of the spring -ll.

The electric switch a is selfopening by any suitable means as a spring sand is adapted to be closed automatically at movement of the pedal 38 sothat as the pedal is depressed for pressing the gripping members -19 and20 with the lens post clamped between them toward the gripping members 3and l in which the bridge piece 2 is held, said pedal will engage andclose the switch '-s,- in the primary circuit of the transformer toenergize the secondary circuit and clamping members 3 and 1 and -19 and20 which are connected directly in said secondary circuit, therebyconcentrating the electrical heat developed directly at the points orsurfaces of contact of the members a and --7) The pivotal bearings 14and 16- for the rocker arms 13 and 15 respectively preferably consist ofadjusting screws engaged in threaded apertures in the adjacentportionsof the rockerarm 15 and frame 1- to permit the rocker arms 18and 15 to be adjusted laterally for the purpose of accurately aliningthe gripping portions of the clamping members 19 and 20 with the slot33- in the temporary holder 32- and also with the grooves in theclamping members .3 and 4 whereby as the gripping members 19 and 20 areadvanced toward the temporary holder 3:2 they will be in correctposition to grip the ears of the lens post and then to carrysuch postforwardly into exact registration with the inwarcllv protruding end ofthe bridge piece a, thereby causing the point -a to register with andenter the aperture in the post Without especial care on the part of theoperator. The operation briefly described is as follows: Assuming thatthe carrier arm -13- is in its normal position with its free end bearingupon the rest 35 and that the jaws -8 and 9- are open, whereupon one ofthe bridge pieces a is placed by hand in the groove 8 with its enlargedhead abutting against the end face of the jaw 3, the upper jaw t is thenclosed uponthe bridge piece to hold it in a fixed position after whichone of the lens posts 'b is moved by hand from the tray 29 along theguide groove 31 where it drops into the slot 33- of the spring arm 32and is there temporarily held until the jaw -20 is opened by depressingthe free end of the lever 17 against the action of the spring 27-, andthe carrier arm -13 is then advancedtoengage the ears of-the lens postb-;bet-ween th e jaws l9 and -20- andadjacent faces of; the disk theilever;

the lens post.

17 is released to allow the jaws to grip The carrier arm 13 is thenraised and carried forward across and. upon the rest 36 so as toregister the aperture in the lens post with the inwardly pro ecting spurof the bridge piece after the solder washer has been placed upon saidspur, during which operation the switchis closed and current. from thetransformer is allowed to flow through the opposite sets of grippingmembers to the contactingv points or surfaces of the parts a and Z),thereby fusing the solder and uniting such parts to each other,whereupon the gripping members may be released from gripping engagementwith the united parts and returned to their normal positions allowingsaid united parts tobe removed V and the operation repeated.

It will be observed that the wires from opposite poles of thetransformer are each connected by separate branch leads directly totheir respective sets of gripping members -3 and -'1' and 19' and 20which being of low resistance allows the current to pass readily to thecontact points or surfaces of'theparts during the soldering operation,the rests 35- and 36 being made of fiber or'other insulating materialinsulated from the frame l to prevent short circuits when the arm 13 isrestingthereon.

The heating circuit is normally broken when the lever 13 is restingon'the insulating block 35 by reason of the fact that the gripping disks19 and 20, to which one side of the circuit is connected, is withdrawnfrom the bracket '30 and also from the jaws 3 and t to which the otherside of the circuit is connected; It, therefore, follows that the onlypossibility of closing the circuit before the disks 20 with one part ofthe mounting therebetween is brought into contact with the other part ofthe mounting, which is held by the jaws 3 and 4, is when the disks 20are moved toward the upper end of the bracket 3 l to engage with thepart of the mounting which is then supported by the bracket. but this isonly for an instant when the disks are raised to bring the part ofthemounting carried thereby into contact with that particular part of themounting which is gripped between the jaws 3 and 4.-- with the solderwasher'between them at which time the two parts are weld ed together bythe fusing of the solder caused by the closing of the circuit at thatpoint.

i What I claim is:

. 1. In an electric solderingmachine, separate gripping devices forholding the parts to 'be'soldered. one of said-gripping devices havingco-acting gripping members relatively -1novable one toward and from thethe one-o re Juries al 1 1 pendent adjustment rotarily to presentdifferent portions thereof to the soldering point, means for holding therotarily adj ustable member in its adjusted position, and means forsupplying current to both gripping devices.

2. In an electric soldering machine, separate gripping devices forsoldering the parts to be soldered, one of the gripping devices beingmovable into and out of registration with and toward and from the otherdevice, a rest for temporarily supporting the movable device when inregistration with the other device to cause the parts to be soldered toabut one against the other, and means for supplying current directly tothe gripping members of said devices under sutiiciently low voltage toprevent welding of the parts to be united when brought into contact witheach other. 7

3. In an electric soldering machine, separate gripping devices forholding the parts to be soldered, one of said devices having rotarilyadjustable gripping members, and means for supplying current of onepolarity to the gripping members of one of the devices and of oppositepolarity to the "ripping members of the other device.

4. An electric soldering machine comprising a pair of gripping jaws forone of the parts to be joined, a spring having opposite ends connectedto said jaws and normally holding them apart, a pair of gripping membersand supports therefor pivoted to each other and movable toward and fromthe jaws for supporting the other part to be joined to the first namedpart, a guide rest along and upon which one of the supports is movableto register the part carried by the gripping members with that carriedby the jaws and means for supplyin current of one polarity to the springand of another polarity to the gripping members.

5. An electric soldering machine comprising a pair of gripping jaws forone of the parts to be soldered, a pair of supports movable toward andfrom the gripping jaws and pivoted to each other, gripping membersmounted on said supports, a guide rest for one of the supports inproximity to the gripping jaws, an additional rest for said support somedistance from the jaws. a guide for the articles to be gripped by saidmembers between said rests, and means for supplying current of onepolarity to both of the jaws and of opposite polarity to both grippingmembers.

6. In an electric soldering machine, a pair of gripping jaws for one ofthe parts to be soldered, supports pivoted to each other and movabletoward and away from the jaws, gripping members carried by the supports,separate guide rests for one of the supports at different distances fromthe jaws, a holder for the other part to be soldered to the first namedpart located between the rests, and means for supplying current to saidjaws and to the gripping members.

7. In an electric soldering machine, a pair of jaws for holding one ofthe parts to be soldered, a pair of gripping members and supportstherefor hinged to each other and movable toward and from the jaws, anadditional gripping member mounted on one of. the supports between themeeting faces of the gripping members for supporting another partbetween said members for application to the first named part and meansfor supplying current to the gripping jaws and to said members.

8. An electric soldering machine comprising a pair of gripping jaws, asupport therefor, a rocking member movable toward and from the jaws, anarm pivotally connected to the rocking member, a lever pivoted to saidarm, gripping members mounted respectively on said arm and lever, aguide rest for said arm to register the gripping members with the jaws,and means for supplying current to said jaws and to said grippingmembers.

9. In an electric soldering machine, a pair of gripping jaws, operatingmeans therefor, a pair of gripping members, supports for the grippingmembers pivoted to each other movable toward and from the jaws, meansfor supplying current to said jaws and grip ping members including anormally open electric switch and separate means for operating thesupports for the gripping members toward the jaws and simultaneouslyclosing the switch.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand on this 31st day ofOctober. 1911.

ARTHUR AVERY BACON.

Vitnesses:

M. Gonrcmns, VVlLLIAM J. ESPEY.

. Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner 0! Patents,

Washington, D. 0.

